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Officials advised that "any person exposed to any type of bat in the UK should receive a prompt risk assessment and may require post-exposure treatment with rabies vaccine".

Exposure refers to a bite, scratch or contact with bat saliva.

Every year, around 150 people in England receive NHS treatment after being bitten by a bat.

The finding marks the first time this particular virus has ever been confirmed in the UK. (Image: Getty Images/National Geographic)

PHE said the "risk of catching rabies from a bat is very low"; however, the statement confirmed that a man in the UK died from rabies he contracted from a bat in 2002.

He had been infected with the EBLV-2 virus, which has previously been detected in Daubenton's bats in the UK.

A PHE spokesman said:"As many people will not know what type of bat they've been in contact with, we provide rabies vaccine to people who have been bitten by any type of bat in the UK as a precautionary measure.”